Sheriff vehicles get a new look

Dep. Ken Gay, school resource officer at LA New Tech at Plain Dealing, starts the first day of school Thursday with a new look to his Bossier Sheriff’s Office vehicle.

Bossier Sheriff Julian Whittington rolled out the first vehicles with the new look and logo for the Bossier Sheriff’s Office this week.

As students returned to school Thursday for a new school year, 13 school resource officers in Bossier also returned with a new look to their patrol units. The SRO patrol units and five transport vans are the first of many vehicles that will display the updated striping and style for the department.

“When I took office last year, I wanted to update our fleet of vehicles with a modernized and more practical look,” said Sheriff Whittington. “The lettering is larger and easier to read, not only during the day, but also at night because it is reflective.”

Each vehicle will also be displayed with the words “Courteous, Professional and Responsive” which is a core of the mission statement for the department.

“These words will serve as a daily reminder to our deputies and the people we serve how we carry out our duties, all in a courteous manner, to maintain a high level of professionalism and to respond appropriately,” said Sheriff Whittington.

The new striping will continue to be placed on existing marked vehicles, comprised primarily of 2008 to 2011 year model Ford Crown Victoria sedans. A robust maintenance plan has allowed the Bossier Sheriff’s Office to extend the life of these vehicles, some which have up to 150,000 miles on them, and not purchase new ones in order to save taxpayer monies.

The Sheriff’s Office is in the process of deciding replacement vehicles for the discontinued Crown Victoria, which was last produced in 2011. New vehicles will be black with the new Sheriff’s Office striping.